1. Ricky's Fish Tacos, Los Angeles: Fish Taco: For years, anyone interested in America's best tacos has at least heard of Ricky Piña and his Ensenada-style fish, shrimp, and (when you're lucky) lobster tacos. Why are the tacos so good? Size isn't everything, but not only is the seafood fresh, the tacos are huge. Lobster is longer than your hand, the fish taco is wider than the two quality corn tortillas it's served on, and the seafood is fried in a batter that becomes really crispy and crunchy, while letting everything stay juicy inside. You get a covering of super-fresh slices of cabbage, crema, pico de gallo, and a variety of sauces (including a fresh tomatillo salsa). Everything is simple but delicious. Flickr/djjewelz

2. La Taquería, San Francisco: Carnitas Taco: When it comes to leaders of a culinary genre, there are few restaurants in America with greater gravitas for their respective focus than San Francisco's La Taquería has for tacos. That challenges it, and its tacos (carnitas among them, quite arguably the best) with quite a heavy reputation to live up to. La Taquería, just one of the Mission's casual Mexican joints, does things the way they should be done: fresh. As if the amazing rice-free burritos weren't enough (you'll never notice it was even missing), there are the tacos. And sorry, anyone who references El Farolito as a counter-argument for anything San Francisco taco-related, and especially when it comes to La Taquería, is lost. Flickr/are you gonna eat that

3. Los Tacos No. 1, New York City: Adobada Taco: Los Tacos No. 1 serves a taco so good that you could dare anyone to taste it blindfolded against their supposed classic favorite confident and they'd secretly be worried they'd choose Los Tacos No. 1 instead. You really can't go wrong whether you go with adobo or pollo, but the winner is the red chile-marinated pork, the adobada. Moist. Salted. Flavorful. Sweet but not cloying. Accoutrements. Proper moisture and accurately delivered tortilla. There are expertly prepared salsas. Dress it yourself. You'll shut up because your mouth will be full and you will be happy. Los Tacos No. 1

4. Tito's Tacos, Culver City, Calif.: Tito's Taco with Cheese: This Los Angeles Westside institution is famous for its plump burritos (like one with chili con carne and refried beans that people dream about), but for good old American-style tacos — the kind purists scorn — it's hard to beat this place. The beef is long-cooked and shredded, not ground; the shredded Cheddar is tart; the julienned iceberg is crisp and cool. It's nothing short of hard-shell taco perfection. Tito's Tacos

5. Torchy's Tacos, Various Texas Locations: Trailer Park Taco: At Torchy's, owner Michael Rypka has created tortilla-bound concoctions that are nothing short of devilish, and made fresh every day. There's the Brush Fire (Jamaican jerk chicken, grilled jalapeños, and mango), the Dirty Sanchez (scrambled eggs with fried poblano chile, guacamole, escabeche carrots, and shredded cheese) and The Republican (grilled jalapeño sausage with shredded cheese and pico de gallo), but the wildest and most delicious, creation on the menu is the Trailer Park, a massive battered and fried hunk of chicken breast, topped with sautéed green chilies, lettuce, pico de gallo, and shredded mixed cheese on a flour tortilla from El Milagro, topped with poblano sauce. Torchy's Tacos

6. The Shed, Santa Fe, N.M.: Chicken with Green Chile Taco: Santa Fe is known for its green "Hatch" chiles, and their nearly supernatural ability to pair perfectly with just about any type of food you can think of. At The Shed, in business since 1953, their chiles are grown especially for them and are brought in fresh daily, then processed on-site. One of the best applications of this spicy green sauce that you'll find in the city is on the restaurant's Taco Plate: two fresh blue corn tortillas with baked chicken topped with green chile, Cheddar cheese, onion, lettuce, and tomato. The chicken is perfectly cooked, but the chile is the real star of the show (as is the stellar posole that comes with it). Flickr/Vicki Devine

7. El Real Tex-Mex Café, Houston: Chicken Puffy Taco: Located inside a restored theater in Houston's Montrose neighborhood, El Real serves Tex-Mex classics like chile con carne, nachos, and Frito pie, but we recommend you head directly for the San Antonio Puffy Taco Plate, with smoked chicken. The deep-fried and puffed-up shell gets a smear of refried beans, then the smoked chicken (which is smoked whole before being shredded) is liberally applied. Lettuce and tomato come on top, and it's a taco you're not likely to forget any time soon. El Real Tex-Mex Cafe

8. La Super-Rica, Santa Barbara, Calif.: Adobado Taco: The fresh flavors and simple but perfect presentations at this casual, counter-service Santa Barbara landmark draw long lines daily. Though the vegetable tamales, cheese-stuffed pasilla chiles, chorizo quesadillas, and the like have strong followings, it's hard to beat La Super-Rica's exquisitely minimalist adobado tacos: just made-from-scratch corn tortillas laden with marinated pieces of pork with plenty of crispy edges. That's it. Add pico de gallo or other condiments from the salsa bar, and there you are. Flickr/larryleenyc

9. Chico's Tacos, El Paso, Texas: Chico's Taco: The best way to explain how Chico's serves one of America's best tacos is to say how improbably bad this small chain and its fare appear at first. Signs outside the drab, unimpressive buildings give no indication of its signature dish: three rolled "tacos" containing ground beef covered in finely shredded cheese, all soaked in translucent red "salsa" in a white cardboard boat, and topped with jalapeño salsa. The "flautas" are crunchy, but soaked in the salsa the crispness begins to give. And though it's more like a thin broth, there's surprisingly good flavor. The heat of the broth melts the cheese, turning it into a soupy mess of flavor punched up by the heat of the jalapeño sauce. You pick one up, bite, dip, and bite again until they're gone and you're left with a quarter-inch of cheese and sauce that begs drinking. Flickr/rogoyski

10. Birrieria Zaragoza, Chicago: Birria Tatemada Taco: At Chicago's family-run Birrieria Zaragoza, goat is the name of the game. Namely, the roasted goat taco, or birria tatemada, based on a recipe that's more than 100 years old. The goat is steamed for around five hours, then rubbed with an ancho chile-based red mole sauce before being roasted and served on house-made corn tortillas with fresh condiments including onion, cilantro, red salsa, and roasted chiles. You can request any part of the goat you like, but we suggest you go with the pistola, or shank. It's juicy, tender and full of flavor, a bite worth seeking out if you're even a passing fan of falling-off-the-bone meat. And who isn't? Yelp/EleazarC

11. Dora's Deli, Walla Walla, Wash.: Vegetable Taco: Dora's Deli has two locations in Walla Walla, Wash., one of which is in the back of a bait-and-tackle shop called Worm Ranch. But while that might be the most unappetizing restaurant name in history, don't be dismayed. Dora's vegetable tacos are seemingly simple, but undoubtedly delicious. Corn tortillas, made in-house, are filled with lettuce, tomato, onion, cilantro, shredded mozzarella, rice, beans, avocado, and either a hot or medium salsa, and the ingredients play so well together that it'll give even meat lovers pause. We don't know how they do it, but Dora's has nailed the vegetarian taco. Flickr/Dav

12. Tortilleria Nixtamal, Queens, N.Y.: Carnitas Taco: Located a couple of blocks from Queens' Flushing Meadows Corona Park, Tortilleria Nixtamal isn't just a restaurant, it's a tortilla factory. Opened in 2008, it's quickly developed a reputation as one of New York's premier taco spots, and with good reason: just about everything they offer is astoundingly delicious. Tortillas are made from non-GMO corn, with no additives or preservatives, and meat comes from Franco's, a local butcher. While the lamb barbacoa and homemade chorizo are certainly delicious, you won't want to leave without trying the carnitas. Chunks of pork are slow-cooked for more than two hours in lard, and then simply topped with onion, cilantro, and a little hot sauce. It's taco perfection. Flickr/wallyg

13. La Paz, Maxwell Street Market, Chicago: "Quesadilla": The La Paz stand on Desplaines between Roosevelt and Polk streets in the South Loop is just one of the many tarp-covered makeshift stands that draws lines for hours, but few can argue that it isn't one of, if not the best. Homemade tortillas are pressed and topped with all the classics, from barbacoa to carne asada, huitlacoche, al pastor, and squash blossoms. Those tortillas, covered with your meat of choice, chopped onions, cilantro, and the super-hot salsa verde on the dollar-store-tablecloth-draped folding tables, leave you wishing you'd ordered two more. Flickr/BGD

14. Mi Tierra, San Antonio: Carnitas Michoacan Taco: Locals and visitors alike fill this big, boisterous, absolutely dependable Tex-Mex restaurant and bakery — bedecked with Christmas lights and open 24 hours a day — for fajitas platters, enchiladas and quesadillas, and more (including first-rate menudo for breakfast), but the flour-tortilla tacos are possibly the best in town — especially the ones filled with carnitas Michoacan, pieces of pork marinated in orange juice and spices and perfectly fried, and presented with guacamole, pico de gallo, and beans. Mi Tierra

15. Henry's Puffy Tacos & Cantina, San Antonio: Henry's is an iconic spot for San Antonio's signature dish (one that has since spread significantly beyond San Antone to Dallas and Austin). The famed tortillas are made in-house, fried so that they puff out, creating a fun way to eat what otherwise is a relatively conventional Tex-Mex taco. You have the puffy tortilla shell filled with the meat of your choice (spicy beef fajita is the most popular), topped with shredded iceberg lettuce, grated cheese, sour cream, and guac. With truly great puffy tacos, the shell shatters a little, adding textural variation to each bite into the meat and condiments, and that's exactly what happens here. Henry's Puffy Tacos